A Change of Pace
by Deviant-Panda
Summary: The Akatsuki gather together for an uncommon conference to share intel and take some time to recover from missions gone awry. But despite the security measures taken by the leaders, an intruder manages a jutsu that will cripple the organization, albeit in an unexpected manner... - Rated for mild language and future events.
1. The Jutsu

Disclaimer: The publishing of Masashi Kishimoto's manga "Naruto" began in 1997-1999 (depending on your point of view) . I am not Masashi Kishimoto, nor am I any affiliate in the publishing industry. I do not own in part or in whole any of the characters, concepts, stories, or other copyrighted materials. I'm just writing a fan fiction piece.

_I'd like to say upfront that if you're opposed to seeing the Akatsuki as anything but selfish, heartless terrorists, you probably won't like this story._

Warning: This story features pseudo-canon content, meaning that while some major events certainly still take place, the aftermath is contradictory to the canon story-line. Characters that should be dead are not because an excuse has been made to alter such defining events in the plot. Rest assured that within the boundaries of this fan fiction, the author is doing all in its power to ensure that major future events are not altered because of this fandom-based disruption of the Naruto time-space continuum…

Important Notes for Readers:

**1) **I've set the time frame of this story at just after the "Immortals arc", meaning that Pein's plan hasn't seen its final stages, so we're going back in time for those of you up to date with Naruto Shippuden. And for those of you wondering what Shippuden is, shield your ears for risk of spoilers.

**2) **_There are a few things I want to mention because I'm paranoid and hyper-defensive_:

**A)** I've fudged a couple things in this chapter. I don't know exactly what the deal is with Nagato's hardware, and I doubt Zetsu can actually communicate in any recognizable way with plants, but they're old plot devices that I wasn't sure how to replace.

**B)** As for a part of the story that may confuse some people: "_Konan kept an eye on her two partners, Nagato and Pein, as the latter essentially physically supported his comrade._" This sentence is based on my presumptuous reasoning that if Nagato has to get around, he's probably aided/supported by someone, and for some reason, in my head, I envision Deva Pein as that someone. In short, Yahiko is sort of a crutch for Nagato in the latter's infirmed condition.

And with this lengthy, but hopefully helpful author's note out of the way, let the story begin.

**Chapter 1: The Jutsu**

Just inside a forest somewhere in Grass Country, there sat a small cottage, simple in structure with tall planks of plain wood serving as walls; there was nothing particularly special about it. Inside was a small simple kitchen, a family room, and a hallway that led to three doors barely wide enough for walking through. But if one were to open the trap door on the floor of the hallway under the long rectangular rug, one would find a long staircase leading down to a shallow but long and wide stone chamber. The walls were lined with boxes of documents, information stored over years of operation, specifically Akatsuki operations. This was one of the several low-key hideouts maintained and occasionally used by the organization of S-Class criminals. The locations and their security varied across the map, but had a few things in common – simple buildings, remote areas, and information always being stored underground.

It was in this particular cottage that a relatively uncommon meeting was about to take place. A meeting with all Akatsuki present – in person. Deva Pein's ringed eyes roamed disapprovingly over the tattered members of his organization. The past few weeks had not been good to Akatsuki, with a handful of them suffering grievous injuries: Deidara's arms, Sasori and Kakuzu's near-death experiences, and Hidan's profound dismemberment. Itachi's eyes grew ever dimmer, though he did what he could to minimize the attention drawn to them. A formal report from each of the Akatsuki was in order and in turn, they stepped forward announcing to the leader what they had managed – and failed to accomplish as pertaining to their assignments.

"So in summation, we have sealed the Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, and Rokubi. We have acceptable financial standing according to Kakuzu's records, and all members are miraculously still alive." He finished on a dull note, clearly not impressed with the last announcement. "Your updated assignments are simple." The leader continued as Konan passed along their papers with detailed descriptions of their further work. "Continue as planned, and we'll have the remaining bijuu in good time." Pein then turned to glance at the four wounded, but gradually recovering Akatsuki. Turning to leave, he called back in a muted voice: "Deidara, Sasori, Hidan and Kakuzu will remain under the radar and minimize activity until their strength is fully restored. Kisame and Itachi, you'll be expected to compensate for this reduction in moving agents. Konan, Zetsu and Tobi, your ongoing work remains the same. You are all dismissed." The orders were delivered cleanly and crisply, followed by the soft click of the floor-bound door as it shut gently behind the orange-haired man.

Upstairs, Pein wasted no time in turning right to go further down the hallway, and turning left into a dimly lit bedroom. In the left corner sat the man who breathed life into the otherwise motionless corpse of Yahiko. Attached to the cumbersome equipment that kept him alive, Nagato smiled weakly up at the red-head, a sad smile reserved for the faces of loved ones who seem far away even when they're in the same room.

Following Pein's example, the rest of the Akatsuki filed up the stairs and into the cabin-like building, blinking away the bright light of a late afternoon after emerging from the dark underground meeting room.

"Acceptable is one word for our financial standing…" Kakuzu mumbled sourly, not personally satisfied with their balance. He shot a look at Hidan, as though the follower of Jashin had somehow deprived them of revenue, which given his method of dealing with targets, was a vague possibility.

"Quiet, bastard, my head is killing me," the immortal quipped back, holding the right side of his heavily stitched face with a heavily stitched hand. It had taken Kakuzu days to piece the man back together as though he were a 3D puzzle. Such a time-consuming process was a labor of love that neither wanted to bear in memory nor mention again.

Kisame silently watched his partner who took a seat in the main room, keeping to himself and discreetly trying to observe his surroundings even as his eyes were beginning to fail him. The pale blue-skinned man couldn't contain his slow and deep sigh at the somewhat pitiful sight.

Sasori had immediately retreated into one of the bedrooms, content to rest in dark quiet as he was still slowly recovering from the damage dealt to his heart. Deidara cringed at the stifled sound of rattling wood as Sasori mustered up the strength to casually walk into the room and shut the door behind him. The blonde only supposed that when you only have one organ like Sasori, it takes longer to recover; Kakuzu too had been severely wounded, but once he had a replacement heart provided to him by Zetsu, gathering 4 others was easy enough given some time, and with 5 working hearts, general recovery seemed to come quickly to him.

"Hmmm… poor Sasori doesn't look like he's feeling too well today, huh Senpai?" Deidara's expression of guilt-laced compassion transformed seamlessly into one of annoyance at the sound of that singsong voice. Tobi stood behind Deidara with his head cocked to one side in his characteristically playful and curious manner, seemingly undaunted by the visibly irritated blonde who turned to look at him. Of course, what actually happened behind that mask was a mystery to anyone. Deidara sighed as he turned away, rolled his eyes, and looked toward the nearest window.

"Not today, Tobi, I'm not in the mood." In fact, no one was in the mood so-to-speak. There was a tension in the room or rather, in the whole house. All of them meeting together, it left them feeling vulnerable somehow, and Nagato's presence offered little comfort. Konan kept an eye on her two partners, Nagato and Pein, as the latter essentially physically supported his comrade. The anxiety felt by the better half of the group was infectious, and the awkwardness of this meeting was not lost on her: she knew that gathering everyone together was a rare occurrence, that the members of the organization did not necessarily play nicely with each other, and that all of them in one location seemed a risky decision. Why Nagato wanted everyone together wasn't clear, and Konan could only guess at the reason, since he had not confided this even in her. Perhaps he was feeling lonely and wanted something resembling a family to be around, even if he didn't see much of them. Perhaps he knew something she didn't. So, much of Konan's time and nervous energy would be spent musing on such things.

Deidara and Hidan, given the atmosphere were putting their foremost effort into stifling their usual attitudes, as they would certainly be ill-received – and unlike a certain blonde they could both mention, the two knew better than to antagonize apprehensive and irate S-Class criminals.

Zetsu had instructions from Pein and Nagato to make sure the surrounding area was as secure as possible. The leader mentioned to him that it would also be nice if he could manage to dissolve some of the tension. So Zetsu gave it some thought, and while it was still daylight, he concluded that food was an effective method of calming people. An hour after excusing himself from the cottage, he returned with rice and vegetables from a nearby village (the village, he had of course entered using the transformation jutsu) and fish from the nearby river. He ignored the silent look of exasperation on Kakuzu's face, and went straight into the kitchen to start cooking. Opening a cabinet he took out a couple packets of dried tea herbs, and upon having everything set on the counter, left again to fetch water.

An hour and a half afterwards, dinner was served and the Akatsuki stared awkwardly between their plates, Zetsu and the leaders before somewhat reluctantly eating. No one felt it was appropriate to comment on the dinner, but thanked Zetsu quietly as they rinsed their dishes quickly in the bowl of leftover water before leaving them on the counter, dodging eye contact with the leaders and Zetsu the whole time. The plant-man traded discouraged looks with Pein and Konan, it seemed dinner had little effect, and worse yet, it appeared that the other Akatsuki were well aware that dinner was supposed to be a calming experience, yet had failed miserably. Everyone was still uneasy, and defeated, Zetsu walked over to the window and watched the sunset being swallowed in dark storm clouds that were headed their way. After meeting Pein and Konan's (and subtly Tobi's) eyes, he turned to the other members who had dispersed throughout the main room and were trying to occupy themselves with something.

"We'll be handling night-watch today." He said, and planned to say something else, but changed his mind as the words died in his throat. He opened the front door and turned back, "We're just going to take one more look around before dark, but we're fairly sure that the area is clear." The others nodded slowly, all of them making eye contact with Zetsu for the first time that day.

Scanning the entire area for 3 miles around was a thorough, but seemingly wasted effort, as he found no sign of the presence of other people, and the plants and trees had nothing to report. So he returned with the generally good news to find that most everyone had already gone to sleep. He had of course checked each room to ensure that everyone was present and undisturbed. Looking at the clock as he came back into the main room, he realized that he had been gone for 5 hours, and the sky had long since turned dark, so he hung his rain-soaked cloak by the door and sat down in a chair facing the front door and one of the windows. He stretched, hearing bones crackle and the leaves of the plant twitch, allowing himself to slump slightly, but remained upright. It was quiet, cool, and pouring outside – in other words – it was going to be a long night, though he was brought back into sharp focus by the occasional rumble of thunder.

The early morning, besides getting brighter, didn't bring much change as the sky was still pouring down rain, and it was still all too quiet, though now the chirping of some birds could be heard. He decided to take a walk outside and scan the general area again on his way to get some food for breakfast: eggs and bread, fairly simple. Everything went smoothly, as his disguise went unquestioned, until he got back to the cottage to find a slightly frazzled-looking Pein, Konan and Nagato. It didn't take long for Zetsu to realize why they might be upset, as the sentinel had left while everyone else was still asleep, which in hindsight anyone could see that that was not good for security. "We brought items for breakfast." The white half offered with the smallest of smiles, hoping in vain that it may prove a peace offering. All three shook their heads, just grateful that this time nothing happened, but next time, they might not be so fortunate.

Some Akatsuki could not hide the nervous smiles at the bad vibes flowing between the leaders and Zetsu at breakfast-time. Tobi watched from the back of the group; he very well may have been smiling, _the lucky bastard_, Deidara thought glancing back at Tobi and his iron-clad expression cover, and trying desperately not to smile. No one saw fit to ask why Zetsu was getting dirty looks, but it was on everyone's mind. Only when the leaders decided to leave the main room and deliberate on some details of their plan did the others relax, trading looks of mild amusement when they thought Zetsu wasn't looking.

Tobi got permission from the leaders to go take care of some personal business, provided that he waited for Zetsu to come find him before they both returned to the hideout. Tobi waved off the warnings jestingly, saying he'd be a couple days and not to worry if he took a while. Deidara shook his head in dismay, "what a kid, un…"

Slowly the Akatsuki calmed down over the next few days. They were taking some time to fine tune their approach to the remaining bijuu and this place provided a single location for the Akatsuki who were recovering to rest in relative peace. In three more days it would be time for them to part ways once again. But the fourth night, Zetsu had bad news for the leaders: the plants informed him that they had detected movement in the area, and indeed he found signs that people had been by, and likely not civilians. Nagato had been relocated to the underground chamber with Konan as company since the arrangement had been on her suggestion, while Zetsu and Pein stood in the main room, looking carefully through the windows for any motion out in the dank blackness.

Watching from around the corner in the hallway, Deidara wondered why Nagato and Konan were nowhere to be seen, and why Zetsu and Pein looked so anxious. He jumped slightly when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder, but turned to see Kisame looking questioningly between him and the pair in the main room. Behind Kisame were Hidan, Itachi and Kakuzu as well. Deidara shrugged, to show them that he was just as confused as they were. For a moment, Deidara wondered why Sasori hadn't joined them, but he remembered how tired Sasori has been – he was probably still asleep in the room next to him.

Pein's eyes flickered at what he thought was a glint of metal, and trading a look with Zetsu, the latter briskly stepped forward, opening the door and immediately diving into the ground, melting into it and vanishing. Whoever was out there, however, was already fast at work, creating symbols on the ground with blood and forming kata. Zetsu leapt out of the ground, concerned that the figure had made no effort to retreat, meaning that the jutsu he/she was about perform was dangerous, and clearly meant for the Akatsuki. His step as he pushed himself out from the soil while breaking the intruder's balance smudged a character on the ground, but as the enemy formed that last apparent kata, the symbols lit up, turning a bright white and the glow spread around the building in a large circle. He was too late.


	2. The Culprit

A/N:

Welcome back everyone. If you're reading this, you've likely come to read the next chapter, which is promising. I'll try not to waste too much time, seeing as you've likely read all the handy dandy logistics in Chapter 1's header. I've drafted these chapters rather impulsively – with a friend and fellow fan-fiction author proofreading for me and helping me to not make the Akatsuki too OOC. Though for the record, I've given Pein a hint of individuality, and he's not simply a puppet of Nagato's. It's nothing revolutionary, but certainly a bit out of place with the canon. That being said, I should also mention that while their memories are intact, they've emotionally regressed as well as physically.

**Chapter 2: The Culprit**

_...as the enemy formed that last apparent kata, the symbols lit up, turning a bright white and the glow spread around the building in a large circle. He was too late._

Zetsu had honestly expected something more painful, or at least more dynamic. But the sensation after the fear ebbed away was best described as anti-climactic. He did notice that he seemed to be much closer to the ground, and was confused as he promptly realized that he was neither crouched nor lying on the slippery rain-soaked earth. With the enemy apparently paralyzed with shock, the plant-man looked up to see unhidden bafflement in the attacker's features. It was a man, though not one Zetsu recognized at all, and the intruder's face was contorted in a way Zetsu would find amusing were it not for the aura of dread that hung over both of them. Suddenly the stranger bolted away as if he was being chased by a ravenous wild animal.

Zetsu attempted to follow but stumbled, to his astonishment, and fell gracelessly to the ground with an ample splash of mud and water. Looking down to see what offending article had tripped him, he was speechless to see how long his robes suddenly were. More bemused with each passing second, he decided that instead of pursuing the fleeing shinobi, he would do better to take inventory on what exactly had come of that strange jutsu. Looking down at his hands as he sat there drowning in his clothing, he saw how different the proportions were, and within a moment that contained an eternity, he came to the conclusion that he had been shrunk – no, not merely shrunk, but turned into a _child_. Terrified, he pulled at his robes so as not to trip again, and ran heedlessly back to the cottage, because if the circle spanning around the whole building was any indication…

His fears were confirmed as he pushed the front door wide open and saw Konan gripping her robes around her desperately, and a haggard-looking Pein and Nagato stepping up out of the basement. To make matters worse, the jutsu hadn't even extended the courtesy of returning them to their childhood states of health as Nagato remained quite emaciated. Confused, and some a bit embarrassed, the other Akatsuki had intended to retreat to their rooms, where they could panic silently and without an audience. For the moment however, Zetsu was more concerned with the frantic whispers flying between the leaders before all three pairs of eyes turned to him.

"Zetsu- what happened!" Konan hissed though in a diminished and high-pitched tone; after all, hiding down in the basement with your crippled leader only to find that both of you are shrinking for no apparent reason and with no warning was enough to rattle any sensible person.

"The intruder cast a jutsu." White Zetsu answered in the same distraught whisper. He was rewarded with a venomous glare from the three that spoke volumes of _that much is obvious_. Black Zetsu hastily added: "judging by the look on his face, this is NOT what the jutsu was supposed to do. To venture a guess, We'd say he was put up to this by someone else."

"Finding out who is behind this should be our first priority." Nagato said urgently even as he shivered and pulled the robe Pein had offered him tighter around himself.

"Could we make adjusting clothing a first short-term priority?" Konan asked meekly, pulling her robes higher as her eyes started to well up with tears.

"We'll get Kakuzu, and see what he can do." Black Zetsu offered, patting her on the shoulder as he passed, "Besides, We really should check on how the others are handling this…" and with that, he walked carefully down the hallway, opening the first door on the right to check on the wounded four who shared a room. All were looking into their own corner, apparently under an agreement to not look at each other. The plant-nin soon found out why as Deidara hastily wiped away tears of confusion and anxiety as soon as they came to his face. They weren't taking it well. Sasori's rattling could be heard, and Hidan and Kakuzu's chakra radiated tension as they fought the urge to panic, though Hidan by far was having no such luck. "Kakuzu," Zetsu asked the dark corner softly, worried when the stitch-covered boy flinched at his own name. Black Zetsu continued tentatively, choosing his words carefully, "perhaps you would distract yourself from these worries by focusing on altering the robes so everyone will be adequately covered and no one will trip on them?" Slowly the dark-haired boy turned to face him with a sort of bitterness, but nodded and turned himself around to sit at the edge of the bed.

"I'm staying here." He mumbled pulling a box out from under the bed, and from it he took a needle and thread. "All of you have to bring your robes here…" Zetsu was relieved, but couldn't help but notice (now that Kakuzu was closer to the light) that the 5-hearted Akatsuki was shaking violently, and black tendrils snaked outside the arms, hardly contained. With a suppressed look of pity, Zetsu acknowledged his efforts and started backing towards the door as the other three criminals-turned-children slowly approached Kakuzu's corner. "We'll check on the others then." Zetsu said in a dual voice, startling himself. Not being able to keep his voices separate, that hadn't happened in years. The green-haired Akatsuki shivered slightly as he continued down the hall and opened the last door to the left. Inside, Itachi and Kisame sat on opposite sides of the room. Kisame was trying to look inconspicuous while a wide-eyed but silent Itachi looked to the doorway as Zetsu darkened it upon stepping in. Itachi remained speechless, but his eyes seemed full of questions, and as though realizing how vulnerable he looked, hardened his stare to make a point.

"We trust you are unharmed aside from the obvious?" White Zetsu offered, sounding neither kind nor unkind, as he was actually unsure of how these two were coping. After all, their faces were not so easily read.

"We're fine." Itachi answered blandly.

"Only regressed into children - no harm done…" Kisame shrugged with a hint of exasperation and sarcasm. Though it seemed he was trying to trivialize the matter, Zetsu knew better.

"We're certain that the leaders are working on a plan to correct this as We speak." Zetsu affirmed with a nod of his head – goodness, how he wished he wasn't bluffing. "In the mean-time Kakuzu is hemming robes so that they're not so… loose." Zetsu finally decided on the word after a five-second pause. Having said all he came to say and seen all he came to see, Zetsu turned to leave and talk more with the leaders.

"One thing is certain, we need to… Zetsu…" Nagato broke off what was evidently the conclusion of his deliberations with Konan and Pein to acknowledge the plant-child. "The others are relatively safe, I presume?" Zetsu nodded the affirmative promptly, not wanting to delay his leader's important instructions any further. "…we need to relocate. Since we've been found here, it is not safe to remain here."

"Well, if we're leaving, we'll need a route that is unmonitored, if not unpopulated." Konan added, "and needless to say, we need a destination. Wandering is not an option."

Then a sound akin to thunder reached their ears, yet there was something about the quality of the sound… it wasn't quite thunder. More like something massive moving swiftly along the ground.

"Everyone needs to get out now." Pein said after trading a brief glance with Nagato. Wordlessly, Konan and Zetsu darted down the hall to pass on the order to the others. Kakuzu subdued a yelp and glared sourly at Konan when he pricked his fingertip, startled by her sudden entrance a moment after they heard footsteps pounding frantically down the hallway.

"No time, we're leaving NOW." Konan's voice squeaked, but she glared to make certain that there was no misunderstanding about the urgency. She could hear the rumbling getting closer, and at an alarming rate; in fact everyone could hear it by now.

In 10 seconds all ten of them had hurried out the back door and were headed for the cover of the forest when the deafening sound of an impact and the sharp whistle of flying slivers of wood caught up with them. Nagato looked back to see a monstrous serpent pulling its head out of the kindling that was their hideout. There was no mistaking who was behind this…


	3. The Unexpected

A/N: Okay, third chapter in, and things seem to be progressing nicely. Fun fact: the events of the first 3 chapters were all contained in the first chapter of the original version of this story. But that's enough of that, on to more important things. This chapter's content is a little circumstantial, but I'm hoping it will be interesting if nothing else. The goal of this story is to be true to the distinct nature of fan fiction (unlikely or alternative events) while retaining a mostly canon understanding of the Naruto universe.

**Chapter 3: The Unexpected**

The group continued deeper into the forest, not stopping until they were certain that no one was following – at least not closely. Sasori had to be carried, as when he had been regressed, his chakra balance had suffered, leaving him with little to no mobility or control of his now much smaller and weaker puppet body. It was like a bad joke, really.

It hadn't escaped anyone else's notice either. While they retained their memories and general health conditions, it was clear that their chakra was not what it was supposed to be. The atmosphere was tense, and for good reason: they were all compromised; stranded, apparently being pursued, some had to leave weapons behind, and half of them were in considerable pain. Altogether, it made for a very vulnerable group of S-Class criminals. While the leaders debated their course of action and destination, and Zetsu went to forage for some sort of food, Kakuzu finished hemming everyone's robes, though for pants he made it clear that the others were on their own.

They managed to endure the hardships over the next few days having a destination and route in mind. It brought them uncomfortably into Fire Country, but it was the nearest supplied hideout nonetheless. Zetsu and Konan "gathered supplies" along the way where they could, usually in the dead of night in sleepy little villages. Nagato had strict orders to be as inconspicuous as possible. They wouldn't take any chances - not when they were so close to their next safe haven. One more day of traveling and they could breathe a little easier.

Meanwhile, in the westernmost reaches of Fire Country, Morino Ibiki was looking for leads on Akatsuki movements. Considering recent conflicts between the organization and the Leaf-nin, the Hokage felt a full-scale search was only appropriate, and all branches of Konoha's workforce were expected to contribute. After all, a group of ten rogue shinobi gathering bijuu to whatever end was nothing to sniff at. Ibiki hadn't really expected much - perhaps they'd hear rumors of one or two cloud-cloaked figures in the region, but nothing substantial.

Ibiki hadn't really expected one of his subordinates to approach him urgently saying that she and her squad had detected weak chakra signals in the forest to the north, specifically **ten** signals. It certainly caught his attention, and he took the kunoichi and her squad along with six other shinobi northward to investigate.

"We're almost there Sasori-no-danna." Deidara said quietly trying to comfort the puppet he was carrying on his back. Sasori sniffed casually; he was certainly embarrassed, being treated like an invalid.

"Good, because between you and me, I don't think Kakuzu can go much further; he's falling apart…" Hidan muttered half-jokingly, half-worriedly as he passed them, hoping that by walking faster they'd arrive that much sooner. Suddenly, the silver-haired Akatsuki froze in his tracks. "Did you feel that?" He asked turning to face Deidara with a hint of fear in his eyes which he quickly frowned away. "It's that damn snake…" He narrowed his eyes in a glare, trying to look frustrated, but Deidara could tell how much it bothered Hidan. Orochimaru had that effect on people. Instantly, all the Akatsuki detected the same chilling energy, and all eyes turned to Pein and Nagato.

"I-It's broad daylight. No matter how much he wants to destroy us, he wouldn't dare..." The scarlet-haired boy stuttered – even as he said it, he didn't quite believe it.

"Especially not with so many other shinobi so close by." Itachi said in a barely audible voice. Those who were nervous were now simply afraid. How had they missed _that_? A dozen or more bodies with distinctly shinobi-like chakra were near, and many of them were closing in. Granted, some of the Akatsuki had regained some semblance of control over their chakra, but not nearly enough to fend off an attacker. What Kisame would give to have Samehada and be able to wield it – at least he had managed to hide it before they left the site of the demolished hideout.

Nagato and Pein fell into a stance and glanced over at Zetsu, Konan, Kisame and Itachi who followed suit, forming a protective ring around the still recovering Akatsuki. How they would actually fight, they hadn't the slightest idea, but at least this position would be more defensible.

Ibiki, as stated earlier, hadn't expected even one Akatsuki for their trouble, and certainly hadn't expected all ten to surface. He wasn't sure he could believe what he was seeing. He didn't detect a genjutsu at work, but this was absurd. It made no sense. Suppose they were the real Akatsuki – what in the world had happened to them? Suppose they were children dressed up as Akatsuki – what would possess children to do such a thing? And why would they be wandering around in the forest as if lost? Akatsuki or not, they were children, and he couldn't wrap his mind around it. What exactly was he supposed to do? He looked directly at the group, in a five-pointed ring formation, and was rooted to the ground by all these questions for a full 30 seconds.

The elite interrogator did notice however that some of their eyes continued to glance to the left in an alarmed manner, and it didn't take long for Ibiki to detect the chakra that the children found so unnerving. Someone was nearby, and if the children's faces were any indication, this someone was not friendly. It was obvious however that something had to be done.

"Approach with caution – we intend to detain." Ibiki muttered over his shoulder to one of the squad leaders. Albeit somewhat awkwardly, the largely jounin group of shinobi moved forward, closing the roughly 30 feet of distance between them and the possible Akatsuki. Nagato looked over to Zetsu, but the green-haired child's eyes could provide no ideal solution.

The only good thing about being surrounded by Leaf-nin was that, true to Itachi's claim, it deterred the snake sannin, and they could feel his presence fading. A frustrated Orochimaru was forced to retreat and deliberate on a new plan to eliminate the Akatsuki – just in case Konoha didn't do it for him.


	4. Deliberation

A/N: Alright, Chapter 4, here we go. Finally moving the plot a little, and true to Akatsuki nature, I don't want to spend too much time or emphasis on "OMG, what do we do? Life is hell!" But true to contemporary media nature, I will have to spend _some_ time on such thoughts. Enough babbling – on with the story! Oh, I suppose I should mention this upfront: In the 2nd paragraph, there's small series of numbers that might seem like they're showing a pattern, but they're not. I semi-randomly picked those numbers because I like them. If you want to see a pattern and share it however, more power to you…

**Chapter 4: Deliberation**

It was a long and quiet walk through Fire Country. Had Ibiki not brought the children with him, the trip could have been made in 2 days. Instead, he grumbled occasionally for 3 days. He kept an eye on them, his mind still reeling from the prospect. It was farfetched, but still a possibility, and if it was an act or distraction, then it was a decidedly elaborate one.

Whatever it was, it had Ibiki's brain tied up in knots. If nothing else, he could talk to the one resembling Zetsu. If they were who they appeared to be, then the designated informant could tell him everything he needed to know – provided he could get the hypothetical plant-child to talk. He looked back for perhaps the 7th time that 3rd morning at roughly 7:30 a.m., a mere hour after they had resumed traveling after a late night rest. Zetsu said nothing, only lifting his eyes off the ground to meet the Black Ops' gaze briefly. The children remained untied, but were closely watched for any movement by the several jounin surrounding them.

For the vast portion of the journey, all Akatsuki had been relatively silent and unchanging in their movement, only speaking up when tentatively asking to stop and rest. Despite the timidity in their voices however, they requested it so often that no amount of tact could soften Ibiki's frustration.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ibiki looked gratefully up the walls surrounding his home, Konohagakure. Then he froze in his tracks, which caused Pein, who was carrying Nagato, to stagger to a stop so as to avoid bumping into him. As if he just now realized it, Ibiki looked back at the children, and more importantly, thought of what it would look like for him to be leading them through the village to his interrogation center. He'd surely get odd looks from the gatekeepers Kotetsu and Izumo, and all the passerby. Knowing that it was pointless to worry now, he sighed and continued toward the gate.

And indeed, he received odd looks. He did his best to ignore most of them, nodding to the gatekeepers who looked with quirked eyebrows at what followed the feared interrogator. Ibiki shook his head with a mild scowl to show the pair of shinobi that he was just as uncertain as they were, and he left it at that. After 10 minutes and passing innumerable confused residents, Ibiki let go of a held breath, finally in the sanctuary of his domain, the Center of Detainment and Interrogation. He turned promptly to the children who he'd managed to avoid eye contact with since he entered the village.

Looking upward just as quickly, he issued the final curt order of the mission to his subordinates: "Escort them to a detainment room. I need to write a report." With that, he vanished around the corner, and his steps and the click of a door were heard as he slipped into his office. Wordlessly, the children turned to face a now very singular jounin who sighed upon realizing that his comrades had abandoned him to lead the possible Akatsuki to a cell _alone_.

"… Follow me, then." He mumbled reluctantly, turning and taking a left down the next perpendicular hallway, setting a brisk pace. The Akatsuki started hurriedly, trying to catch up, and this time, Pein failed to stop, his head bumping into the man's suddenly tense back. It didn't help that half the children crunched together upon rear-ending Pein. "Here's the room." He said, keeping it short, and opening the door. All Akatsuki eyes looked anxiously to Nagato whose gaze bounced between Pein and the jounin. Slowly, Pein stepped forward into the room and soon enough, all 10 had crossed the threshold.

With yet another sigh, though considerably softer this time, the grown shinobi closed the door behind them with a gentle click, and the children couldn't help but cringe at the sound of the door being locked from the outside. Konan wasted no time in jumping into a quiet, but much-needed discussion.

"Nagato-sama, what are we going to do?" She asked officially, even as her eyebrows tapered in fear. "How will we deal with them? What will we say?"

"We… we have some decisions to make." Nagato said a bit frantically. "Will we try to be actual children?" He asked the group, looking around inquisitively.

"Yes." "No." "No." "No." "Yes." "Yes." "No." "Yes." Nagato slumped, his head thumping down on Pein's right shoulder. The simultaneous and mixed answer was not helping at all.

"Okay, simpler question. Will we v-" The leader's words died in his throat as there was a knocking at the door. Ibiki's form took shape in the doorway and instantly, all the room's occupants were plagued with a feeling of unease.

"Before writing my report, I need to speak with one of you." Ibiki said blandly, his eyes neither cruel nor comforting as they scanned over the heads, finally settling on the green-haired one. "I'd like you to come with me." Zetsu hesitantly broke away from the group, looking uncomfortably back at a silently protesting Nagato before disappearing into the hallway with the interrogator. Unease had now been replaced with simple dread.

"I believe enough time has been wasted on awkward silence." Ibiki started as he sat down in his office behind his desk, and motioned for Zetsu to take the seat across from him. "If you're indeed the Akatsuki, you should have information to verify as such, and you should have an explanation for this." His eyes narrowed warningly and he made sure he had Zetsu's full attention as he continued, "If this is a distraction to waste my time that could be spent looking for REAL Akatsuki, you should speak up now." A part of Ibiki held onto the belief that it was too good to be true – that it couldn't possibly be so simple. Yet he didn't know what to make of it when the boy's eyes fell to his lap, weighing his options.

"We… We will certainly tell you what you wish to know, but if We may, We would like to ask for something in return." It was so quiet, that the grown man wasn't sure he heard right, and strained his ears while asking the child to repeat himself. "We can tell you what you want to know, but We need something in return." He said a little louder, his voice strained. It was clear that he was very nervous.

"Fine. What do you want?" Ibiki answered cautiously.

"P-protection." Came the simple reply.

"Protection?" the interrogator echoed, mildly surprised by the request.

"We – are the Akatsuki, but we… have been turned into children. We have reason to believe that the jutsu resulting in our transformation is… the work of…" he stopped, looking up at Ibiki as though having second-thoughts about the whole arrangement, "Orochimaru." He finally muttered resignedly. The look in Ibiki's eyes told him that the man didn't believe a word he said. Zetsu didn't need to be told that it sounded like a child's wild story, non-child vocabulary notwithstanding. Zetsu could have cried, it was all so pitiful, but the white half blinked the tears away anyway as he averted his eyes. For the second time that week, Ibiki was rendered speechless. This was either an extraordinarily pathetic Akatsuki, or an extraordinarily desperate child.

"A jutsu has turned the Akatsuki into children… is that what you're telling me?" Ibiki asked, fishing for clarification.

"Yes." The black half answered as the white half remained silent.

"And… can you verify that you are Zetsu of the Akatsuki?" Ibiki asked, knowing that how the child managed this request would prove which identity was the true one.

"How should We prove it?" Both voices asked at once. The Leaf shinobi's face flashed from intrigued to unamused.

"That's a start." Ibiki said in a low muffled growl as he brought a hand over his eyes. Then suddenly, he got an idea, A cruel but effective idea… "If you're Zetsu, tell me something that the Akatsuki would know – and a child would not."

"You're well aware that we're looking for the bijuu, right?" Zetsu asked tentatively to which Ibiki nodded, but much to Zetsu's disappointment, hinted for more information. "We have the Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, and Rokubi." Ibiki's eyebrows lifted at the intel, but he remained silent, to which Zetsu squirmed and fought down a pout. "How much do you expect Us to tell you?"

"I don't know, what's your protection worth to you?" Ibiki answered with a small smirk, leaning his cheek on his hand. He thought he heard a little voice in the back of his head saying _"You're too cruel to the child"_, but he couldn't hear it over the victorious voice saying _"If this is Zetsu, milk him for all he's worth!" _Though he felt the slightest pangs of guilt, this was the most fun he'd had all week. Zetsu heaved a sigh, his little chest puffing up before he deflated and seemed to think about what information was the most expendable.

"We have multiple safe points throughout multiple countries." Silence. "The now demolished one that we were staying at last week is the near the border of Fire and Grass in the mid-northern forest." Zetsu offered meekly, though he was initially greeted with more silence.

"Do you want to tell me where any un-demolished hideouts are?" Ibiki inquired somewhat mockingly, trying not to smile as a light scowl appeared on the child's face.

"Not really…" The child said, again in two voices.

"Why not? Is there something important in any of the hideouts?" Ibiki continued, having entirely too much fun wringing information out of a cornered Akatsuki.

"No, just documentation…" Zetsu mumbled.

"What a coincidence. I happen to like documentation." Ibiki countered.

Meanwhile, the detainment room had turned into a skewed caricature of a panic room. Konan, Pein and Nagato grimaced at the others, several of which who were sweating bullets, thinking about what must be happening to Zetsu and what might soon become of them.

"I don't want to be tried as an adult." Deidara whined, looking over at Sasori and trying to help the puppet boy (who had started to fall over in his sitting position) to straighten up.

"No one does." Kisame replied with a pout, eyeing his Uchiha partner nervously as the smaller boy remained distanced from the rest of the group, absorbed in his own thoughts. Not one of them could be a day over ten, but Itachi looked particularly young and frail.

"We're not going to be tried at all." Kakuzu complained, picking at his stitches. "The Ibiki guy picked Zetsu, 'cause Zetsu has all the information. He's going to get everything he can out of Zetsu, prove we're the Akatsuki, and take us out before we can cause any more trouble." Hidan paled a few shades at these words.

"You don't think he'd really do that, do you? I mean, we-we're…"

"We're not children. And Ibiki's probably well aware of that now."

Zetsu's forehead hit the desk. It had been 4 hours; everything he considered safe to say and some things he ordinarily wouldn't have said had been said – and the Leaf interrogator still wanted more. Admittedly, Ibiki had begun to think that enough was enough.

"Okay, I'd say you've sufficiently proved that you are Zetsu. This makes the story of you being an Akatsuki turned into a child more palatable." Ibiki said, ignoring the whine that came from the child's still planted face. "I take it then you're also serious about Orochimaru potentially being involved." Zetsu nodded as he picked himself up, staring at his lap in dismay.

"We're fairly sure, but he didn't cast the jutsu himself; he sent someone to do it. We're also fairly sure that turning us into children was not the intended effect…"

"You mean whoever he sent bungled it up?"

"It's quite possible…" Zetsu answered quietly. Ibiki looked the child up and down, mulling this over.

"Well, I think some protection is in order for all this information and trouble you've gone to in order to prove your case." Ibiki offered, closing his eyes, "but you're still the Akatsuki, and we will be watching you very closely. Any suspicious actions on your part and you should expect us to… act accordingly." The conclusion was grim, but acceptable given the circumstances and Zetsu nodded in agreement before being escorted to the detainment room.

When the door opened, Ibiki was met with nine restless pairs of eyes.

"All of you come with me." Zetsu looked up at the man in alarm, but it had little effect. The man motioned for the children to follow him, and had to repeat himself sternly before the group that stood rooted in the doorway moved forward. Thirty heart-pounding seconds and four doors later, the Akatsuki stared in confusion at a hallway filled with barred cells. One by one, they were escorted into 10 cells on the left side of the corridor, so that none could see the others, and with an empty cell between each occupant. "You'll receive three meals a day and three glasses of water appropriate for your approximate age and size. You will remain here unless other arrangements are made. Am I clear?" He was answered with silence and heads nodding. "Alright then, I'll have a guard in here to watch after you shortly."

When the door to the hallway shut behind him, the Akatsuki were left alone in a dimly lit place, with what light that was provided seeming to flicker occasionally.

"What did you SAY?" Hidan asked the open hallway incredulously, though everyone could tell he was addressing Zetsu. At first, the plant-child refused to answer, still shaken up from the unexplained trip to an unmentioned place that thankfully wasn't an execution chamber.

"We said what We thought needed to be said…" Zetsu finally replied a bit hoarsely, his voice tired from hours of answering difficult questions.

Ibiki instructed a guard to watch the Akatsuki and then immediately left for the Hokage's Tower. Within minutes of entering the building, he was standing before the village leader, with a report that he had been compiling while interrogating Zetsu ready.

"Hokage-sama, my group and I traveled to the western reaches of Fire Country as instructed, and we've returned with what I believe to be some interesting material."

"Information?" Tsunade ventured the guess, even as she skimmed over lines of text stretching across her desk.

"Quite apparently: the Akatsuki." Ibiki said, instantly capturing her full attention.

"What?" was her while-not-eloquent, understandable response.

"If I understood everything correctly, I just got through talking with Zetsu who has by means of a jutsu been turned into a child, as have nine others." He paused, absorbing her look of bemusement and growing skepticism.

"You didn't sleep well on that mission, did you?" The Hokage finally said, causing Ibiki to sputter indignantly for a moment before gathering himself.

"Farfetched, I grant you, but after 4 hours of hearing a green-haired child with a very real and very attached plant on his shoulders answer my every question regarding Akatsuki activity, I'm inclined to believe it." Ibiki countered with a deep frown that pulled at his scars slightly. Tsunade took another moment to consider his follow-up claim, and sighed.

"The genuine Akatsuki – are children – all in one place? And their informant is singing like a canary?" She asked, barely masking the cynicism in her voice. "I should have been out gambling these past 4 hours before everything threatened to go south." She finished bitterly. "Duly noted Ibiki, where are they now?"

"They're in holding cells, still in the Interrogation Center." Ibiki answered flatly, the hardest part of his report finished, as he handed her the file with all the details. "It should be noted that Zetsu was accommodating in hopes of a protection arrangement being made, and so far, I have offered some basic provisions under full-time guard."

"Sounds about right." Tsunade replied, eyes drifting back down to her paperwork. "I should make a point of seeing them before the next few days are up. Thank you Ibiki, and you are dismissed." The man bowed his head slightly, exiting the room without a word, and leaving the Hokage to her thoughts. _Best not to let Naruto know about this…_


	5. Planning

A/N: Wow… it's getting harder to write this as I talk myself into a corner, but I'll do my best. Again in this chapter, I've done something that's going to broadly change the course of future events… due to the structure of this chapter, and Jiraiya's role in it, the Toad Sage has bypassed the fatal trip to confront Pein. To Review: in the previous chapter, the Akatsuki were brought to Konoha and detained at the Center of Interrogation. The incredible awkwardness of the situation and Zetsu's offer of information has been the only thing standing between the Akatsuki and a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the Leaf-nin to dispose of a prominent threat. But what will come of Tsunade's evaluation when she faces the Akatsuki in person?

**Chapter 5: Planning**

It had been two days since Ibiki handed in the report to the Hokage – two days that the subject weighed heavily on her mind. She knew that a decision would have to be made. Children or not, these were S-Class criminals, and their record could not and would not be ignored. The actual mental and emotional state of the group was left vague and largely unexplored by the otherwise thorough interrogator, which left Tsunade with a subtle but profound problem: how to approach the Akatsuki, and ultimately what to do with them. A part of her remained troubled by the fact that the decision may very well be taken out of her hands the moment other authority figures came in possession of this information. Certain kage, daimyo and elders may not be so thoughtful of the Akatsuki's circumstances.

With enough paperwork sifted through and resolved, she finally found time to escape her office and pay the much needed visit to the Interrogation Center. On the way there, she had pondered over last-minute plans for making the situation less intimidating for her, such as speaking with only one of them, or having someone else with her. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth twisted into a bitter scowl as she considered how weak this made her feel, but sighed and tried to banish the troubling thoughts. She was already at the door…

The Hokage was mildly surprised and even a little dumbfounded to see that someone was already in the hallway speaking with Ibiki in the presence of the detainees. In fact, the person was strikingly familiar.

"Jiraiya- what are you doing here?" She asked quietly after a momentary pause, trying to deduce what business her old teammate had visiting Ibiki, much less the Akatsuki. The aged sannin looked quizzically back at her, stopped mid-sentence by the familiar voice.

"Ah, Tsunade…" he started, apparently having a little trouble organizing his words, for Jiraiya seemed oddly somber, as if he'd received some troubling news. The Hokage couldn't help but notice as his eyes drifted slowly over to the cells and back to her face before he finally continued. "I wasn't really expecting you to be here, but I suppose it just makes everything simpler. Now I don't have to wait to tell you…"

"Tell me what?" Tsunade asked impatiently.

The next day, she had set a date for a preliminary meeting of sorts and had called together various figures in the village to decide what was to be done with the children. In two days time, she would meet with Ibiki, Jiraiya, Homura, Koharu, and a handful of jounin and ANBU. Together they would deliberate on how to handle the Akatsuki within their own village, and more importantly how to approach other leaders of various countries with this delicate information. Or for that matter, whether to inform anyone else at all… either way, when the day arrived, Tsunade sat ready though reluctant to deal with what was certainly a somewhat hostile audience. More than anything, she felt it was only appropriate that everything was laid out on the table before major decisions were made. Her greatest concern was any consideration being shut down by more militant participants.

"To review, we have what are believed to be the Akatsuki in our custody. They have by means of a jutsu been transformed into children. Their current threat levels are minimal from what Ibiki and I have observed, though there hasn't been sufficient time to see any long-term effects or fading thereof." Tsunade explained it all calmly, having rehearsed the unlikely, but true story, and braced herself against the incredulous silence. "Some of you are already aware that they have been under full-time guard since they arrived in the village five days ago. They have shown no movement according to Ibiki's subordinates, and have been understandably quiet. Their psychological condition remains uncertain, however, they seem to retain the vocabulary of a typical adult. As for their physical condition, it seems that they have retained many attributes characteristic of their adult forms, though chakra use appears to have been severely compromised by a lack of control." She took a moderately deep breath before continuing. "With all this to consider, the priority now is to decide how we will proceed within the boundaries of our village." She wanted to continue, but found that the words were abandoning her, so she decided to keep her lips sealed and allow those words to be her final ones for the moment.

Meanwhile, Team 7 had returned from a week-long mission. Much to the students' ire, their teacher had conveniently disappeared the moment they entered the village, the only remnant of his presence being a scroll with a note attached. Most unamused to find the scroll slipped into her hand before the jounin had vanished, Sakura plucked the note out, reading it aloud:

"Hey kids: I'm sure one of you will be a responsible shinobi and make sure that this report gets to Tsunade." She grumbled and passed the scroll to Naruto, looking perfectly dismayed. "Naruto, please take the report to Tsunade. I'm tired and achy and I desperately need a bath." She sighed, walking away as Naruto stared in astonishment, the scroll sitting innocuously in the palm of his left hand.

"Oh, Sakura…" Naruto finally spoke, shaking his head that hung limply to the side, filled with mixed feelings as it was. On one hand, it wasn't as if _he_ wasn't tired and achy and in desperate need of a bath. They had been on the same long mission after all. But on the other hand, love has a way of persuading us to do things we normally wouldn't do for other people. And so Naruto made the short trip to the Hokage's tower, completely unaware of the consequences that this simple errand would bring.

Naruto hopped up the stairs from the lobby floor, making a beeline to the Hokage's office, as the sooner he dropped off this report, the sooner he could go home and take a bath – or a nap – either would have been wonderful. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even register the slightly frantic protests of a clerk calling after him: "Wait! She's in a meeting! You can't just walk in!" And thus, the door to the Hokage's office was thrown open and Naruto held up the scroll with a sense of accomplishment.

"OKAY GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN …" The words fell to the floor as Naruto opened his eyes wide to see a crowded room of rather important-looking people and Tsunade with her face shaped into an expression much like that of a deer in the headlights. All at once, the words he had unwittingly heard upon approaching the door, but had hardly listened to, all caught up with him. He had caught distinct keywords such as "Akatsuki", "children", "jutsu", "situation" and "course of action". Naruto was hit with the sensation that he'd walked into a lion's den as the voices he'd heard the arguing over each other suddenly hushed when he entered. He gulped with a scanning glance around the room and finally settled on Tsunade. "What's going on?" He finally managed to ask, feeling foolish the moment the words left his mouth when Tsunade's eyes narrowed and she stood up from her desk.

"Naruto, you need to step out." She finally answered.

"I just came in to give you this report." The genin offered with a straight face, inwardly pleased at his impromptu excuse to stay in the room; however, this satisfaction was short-lived.

"Now isn't the time, Naruto." The Hokage countered, looking around the circle before letting her gaze fall on the _intruder_ once more. Naruto, being Naruto however, was not so easily dismissed. He flinched back initially, only to stand his ground.

"Please excuse me a moment." The brown-eyed woman said a bit sternly as she walked around the group and toward where Naruto stood fixed in the doorway, though Naruto could see a slight tapering of her eyebrows. What could she be worried about?

It was so quick that Naruto's mind struggled a moment to catch up to what was happening. Within a few seconds, she had him walking downstairs at arm's length ahead of her. He stubbornly dug his heels into a step, rounding about to face her.

"Seriously, Granny, what's going on?" He asked insistently.

"See, this is exactly why I didn't want to tell you anything. You make everything your business, Naruto." She parried the question chidingly, hoping to discourage the boy. However, she had no such luck, and after a few moments of defiant silence, she sighed in exasperation. "Naruto, we have the Akatsuki, but they've been severely compromised by a jutsu of some sort. Whose work it is, we haven't confirmed it, but I'm trying to hold a meeting that will decide what we do with them." She stated officially, leaving Naruto a bit stunned, and he spent about 15 seconds absorbing it all. "Now, Na-"

"And you didn't think I should have anything to do with that?" he blurted out, having finally found the words. Tsunade let go of a held breath, shaking her head with her brows furrowed. "How are they _compromised_ anyway?"

"They've been turned into children." Tsunade said flatly.

"Children?" Naruto repeated skeptically, getting more and more annoyed.

"YES." Naruto was rendered speechless for a moment.

"You're serious?" He asked numbly.

"Yes." She exhaled the word sharply, still wound up. Naruto seemed to consider the new information for a moment.

"Then I'll hold onto them."

"NO." she countered immediately, her voice commanding and direct. "Naruto, that is the most foolish thing I think has ever come out of your mouth."

"I mean it – if I'm the target of the Akatsuki, keeping these kids in line should be my responsibility, right?" To his surprise, Tsunade whirled around, pulling him back upstairs by the wrist.

She informed him authoritatively in a low voice as she reached the doorway: "Naruto, even if I was inclined to agree to your ridiculous proposition, the others would never agree. But I will humor you. Everyone, Naruto is interested in keeping the Akatsuki in our custody for the time being, specifically in his custody." Naruto stared at all the shocked and decidedly worried frowns, to which the Hokage met his gaze tellingly. Both were surprised however, when Jiraiya breathed out the side of his mouth in a nervous manner.

"As I said earlier," he began tentatively, "I identified three of them as old students of mine. It seems like they're being quite manageable right now. I can't see any time when it would be easier to contain them."

"Keeping them divided at the very least, I would think." Ibiki spoke up, frowning thoughtfully before he continued as all eyes turned to him. "I really can't see the boy taking on any charges, but responsible, able jounin are a different matter. If we can keep them separate, they can be better controlled and monitored." Now looks were being exchanged – this was actually being considered. "It will give us time to figure out how to express all this to other leaders without worrying about the Akatsuki making any plans for escape. Still, I think it's best to keep the two… Pein and Nagato… in the Interrogation Center. I want to keep a close eye on them where there will be ample security to control them if necessary."

"Fair enough, I think…" Tsunade answered blankly. It did take the pressure off of an immediate decision, but assigning criminals as charges to various jounin was still quite an undertaking. "Let's put it up for a vote then: Who is in favor of dividing the Akatsuki into multiple secure locations throughout the village – to contain them – and discourage any conspiratorial activity that may be fostered by keeping them together." She asked, a bit short of breath as she glanced around the circle. Slowly but surely, hands were raised, enough for a simple majority, albeit barely. "There we have it then. I'll start looking up available and qualified shinobi to handle the task. This meeting is adjourned…" she finished almost uncertainly. She hadn't expected it to actually work, and she wasn't sure if she liked this arrangement or not. Only time would tell…


	6. Complication

A/N: *long low whistle* Well, well, long time, no see. Yeah, production here has settled down on account of other projects and actually redoing the illustrations to go with each added chapter. That and… things are getting complicated in the story and I'm having to make sort of difficult decisions on what's going to happen between here and the end. I know how it ultimately has to end, and it's already begun, so now the hard part, right? I'm keeping things short and a bit vague so I can make adjustments if needed. But never fear, there is still plot movement.

**Chapter 6: Complication**

It was two days later, when Tsunade was finalizing the roster of potential ninja to oversee the Akatsuki's modified detainment, that there came the sound of someone tapping at her office door. In stepped a shinobi that she instantly recognized as one of Ibiki's.

"Please forgive the interruption," the young man finally spoke, after absorbing the atmosphere of the room and her position at her desk with brush in hand, "but I have an urgent report."

"Well then, let's have it." Tsunade said, her voice mixed with impatience and anxiety. After all, if it was urgent and from the Center of Detainment and Interrogation, it could only be bad news.

"The Interrogation Center was recently… a-attacked.", he stumbled on the word slightly, all his professional steadiness suddenly abandoning him. He flinched at Tsunade's incredulous expression before adding: "It was only in the aftermath of repelling the assailants and taking inventory that we realized- that security yesterday- may have- been- compromised…" he now grimaced as a deep frown came across the Hokage's face. The woman sighed heavily, her forehead falling resignedly into her right hand. When the upheld arm collapsed back down to the desk and she raised her head, the look of anger had faded into one of slight exhaustion.

"Tell Ibiki I'll be down as soon as I can." She replied.

"I'll do so immediately, Hokage-sama." The shinobi said with a nod before hastily backing out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

"…" Tsunade couldn't help but sigh again, this time in slight irritation. "Yes, this is bad – but dammit Ibiki, what do you want _me_ to do about it?"

20 minutes later, Tsunade was standing just inside Ibiki's office. The whole building was a little out of sorts, with people still flickering from door to door, ghosting down hallways with papers, supplies and orders on how to strengthen security throughout the facility. There was modest property damage with cracked walls and the occasional door hanging off its hinges. A frustrated Ibiki finally slapped his pen lightly down on the desk and lifted his gaze to meet hers.

"Besides the obvious Ibiki, what's the damage?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, property damage of course… and security is currently compromised… and my ego's bruised…"

"Do we still have the Akatsuki in custody?" The Hokage inquired more directly.

"Yes." The interrogator answered flatly.

"And was it they who caused all the commotion by trying to escape?" she followed.

"No." came the same blunt reply.

"Then all hell hasn't broken loose." She finished authoritatively.

"No, but you should've been here an hour ago… want to talk about a commotion…" the man grumbled, standing up from his seat.

"Don't take this the wrong way Ibiki, but I was under the impression that part of your job was handling things like this – so why am I here?"

"I didn't tell the messenger that you had to come here, I just thought you should know – and moreover, I think some information we've recently gathered would be of particular interest to you."

"How recent could it be? I just got the news less than half an hour ago."

"It was brought to my attention shortly after I sent someone to inform you of the incident." Ibiki quickly sucked in an agitated breath before continuing. "You're not going to like this, but the damage, what a few people here saw, the evident target of the attack – at the very least – it heavily implies Orochimaru's handiwork."

"You mean he was here?" Tsunade asked, eyebrows raised.

"No, it seems as per usual that he's sent subordinates to do his dirty work for him. At least 4 shinobi here caught sight of Sound-nin hitai-ate, like a calling card." The head interrogator finished with a scowl. The Hokage pressed her fingers against her temples in an effort to fend off the oncoming headache.

"Knowing Naruto, it's only a matter of time before he somehow catches wind of this… and I won't have him getting all riled up." The blonde woman spoke sternly, and Ibiki could tell there was more to it than simple stress. "Since Orochimaru apparently has no qualms with staging these obnoxious raids, I feel that it's the least we can do to remove the source of temptation from the village. And… perhaps it wouldn't hurt to relocate Naruto, just for good measure." She nodded to herself, her eyes boring holes into the floor. "Ibiki, I leave it to you to come up with a good story for Naruto about why he's being moved to a secure and obscure location outside the village. The Akatsuki and Naruto will be under lock and key there, with just enough guards to keep them all monitored and the facility supplied without drawing attention." The head of Interrogation stared after his Hokage's retreating figure with his mouth slightly agape.

"Now I'm on up-scale clean up duty? How the hell did that happen?" he remarked indignantly to himself.

The next day, Naruto and Akatsuki were already "in transit." It had been hard work, getting the jinchuriki to cooperate, especially since Ibiki had opted to not bullshit some story about why. Instead, he gave the genin orders to meet him at the village gate where they began travel to an unspecified location with more or less no explanation at all. It took five hours of walking with Ibiki and six ever-alert and watching jounin from the Center of Interrogation before they reached their destination.

The Akatsuki ironically had been briefed, though they hardly required it, having experienced the event themselves the day before. They were under specific orders to refrain from talking to each other and especially to Naruto. Nagato had made it clear to his followers that morning in the precious window of 20 seconds when they were all gathered together with no leaf-nin looming over them: _Cooperate for now. Given time, we can regroup and escape, but for the moment, Konoha is the best and only protection we have._ Sasori had regained enough chakra control to walk, though his more advanced puppet features remained useless. Kakuzu was reluctantly learning to be content with one heart, and days of containment had dulled Hidan's rebellious and violent tendencies. The rest were simply following Nagato-sama's orders.

When they were led underground to a multi-room facility that bore an uncanny resemblance to the structure of the Interrogation Center, Naruto was further annoyed by the fact that as the children were led down a number of different hallways and not one of them was in the same direction as his.

For three days and two nights, it carried on like this: in a locked room with 3 meals a day and still no explanation. But Naruto had learned one important thing: There were only 7 guards, including Ibiki, and they had to sleep and run for supplies sometime, and there were 11 people to look after. The odds were already in his favor for a little detective work. Not to mention a certain fox-like and mischievous part of him was itching to spite these guards with a little ill-gotten information.

When his evening meal came, he received it with the same bland gratitude as the past two days – but didn't let the man see the smile that came across his face when the door shut gently behind him _without clicking into a locked position_. And why should it when a senbon that he snuck out of a guard's shuriken pouch at lunchtime that day was wedged between the top of the door and the snug-fit frame? He waited until he heard absolutely nothing beyond the door, including the previously barely audible breathing of the jounin waiting outside. Gently, he opened the door, making sure to prop it open as he surveyed the surroundings carefully. After all, he couldn't gather intel _and_ make a clean getaway if he ended up locked out of his room. The guards who weren't asleep were either watching other hallways occupied by the Akatsuki or out getting supplies.

After 10 minutes Naruto was about to give up and head back, seeing as most of the hallways he tried to approach were found under constant watch. But as he began to turn back, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was white and darting his way down the hall. He snatched it up, almost dropping it when it began thrashing, and at first he genuinely thought it was a mouse. But it made no squeaks of protest, and he couldn't help but notice the papery texture.

"Holy crap…" the genin whispered to himself outside his door. "They're sending secret messages… and Konan can do jutsu again!" He kept it to a dull roar, stifling his excitement at something to look at besides a guard or a food tray. He tried to read the message, but lights out meant lights out, and there was no electrical power running to this place, nor candles left in their rooms after 7 p.m. The only reason he spotted the message was because of the pan fires along every 30 feet of the corridors. Eventually, he decided to let it go, wondering whether to tell anyone about his discovery as he watched it scamper down the hallway and into the distant shadows.

In the meantime, the Hokage had finally completed an up-to-date report fit to share with other international leaders and had sent the individual messages and report copies with messengers on their way. She knew there was no avoiding it, but damn, things were about to complicated…


	7. Tension

A/N: Well, I've been avoiding this one for a while, mostly because I'm having difficulty figuring out the pace of these next 4 chapters, and planting particular events. But seeing as Zetsu's illustration is up, I figure it's time I just knuckled down and figured this chapter out. Wish me luck.

**Chapter 7: Tension**

It was 10 long hours before Naruto was visited by a guard bringing breakfast, but in spite of all the time he had to think, and how the thought of his discovery kept him awake, he still hadn't decided whether or not to divulge the information to Ibiki or the other leaf-nin.

On one hand, it was dangerous, allowing the Akatsuki any kind of mobility or communication, and not informing "security" was indeed allowing it. On the other hand, Naruto couldn't shake the ominous feeling that complicating things further with his new intel would simply blow up in his face.

When the time came however, Naruto accepted his food tray silently, looking perfectly miserable. He heard a muffled question and looked up to see the jounin's confused face.

"I said: Is something wrong?" she repeated, her voice an odd mixture of suspicion and concern.

"Oh, everything's fine, I just didn't sleep well last night." Naruto answered, his eyes eventually falling to the cover of the bed on his right. It was true; he hadn't gotten any sleep at all, but the matter of why was a bit more difficult to talk about. Thankfully, the jounin left it at that, though her face remained pensive and subtly calculating. With a soft click of the door she had left, and Naruto was once again alone with his thoughts. The frustration was mounting, and for good reason; Naruto had more questions than answers, and for once it seemed, Naruto was giving serious thought to the likely outcomes before taking action. Adding to the problem was one haunting certainty: that he was running out of time. Eventually, it would be too late to make a decision…

It had been 78 hours since the Hokage had sent the letters by hawk to the other Kage. Fighting the urge to paw at her face or pull at her hair, among other things people do when they're nervous, she busied herself with paperwork. Ultimately, it was a feeble effort to distract herself from the looming catastrophe that lay ahead, and soon her thoughts drifted to the message she had written for each recipient. They all had one section in common: the topic of a discreet meeting she wished to hold in neutral territory. It would address the matter of the Akatsuki, their current condition, what was to be done with them, and what was to be done about Orochimaru should he become more entangled with the issue. It briefly covered the custody of the 10 children (though it did not reveal the organization's current location), and the Snake Sannin's recent efforts to retrieve them. Tsunade tried to be thorough so as to avoid any unnecessary aggression, as there would already be plenty of that at a meeting among Kage regarding international S-Class criminals. Despite her efforts however, she could tell that the meeting would be a severe headache at best.

She felt her heart clench slightly at a knock on the door, but frowned it away, and called to the other side of the room: "Come in."

Shizune appeared wearing a slightly timid expression. That usually meant bad news, and the blonde woman sighed, shaking her head slowly.

"Yes, Shizune?" she said, recovering somewhat and lifting her gaze to her companion's face.

"Well, Tsunade-sama, you asked Ibiki and his troop to send updates regarding the location and its surroundings-"

"And?" the Hokage pressed on, waving a hand in the circular motion that wordlessly said _get to the point_. After all, if it was bad news, one should just get it over with. "Is there trouble? Was there a report of enemy movement?"

"Well, there might be trouble, because there was no report." Shizune muttered, unable to make eye contact.

"Excuse me?" Tsunade asked, her voice only calm because she was still in mild shock at the statement. The dark-haired girl grimaced as she explained further.

"The jounin who left 2 days ago to scout the area- never came- back."

Now, were this something simpler, or a more comical situation, the exasperation would have been fit to send Tsunade's face crashing into the desk below. Instead, she sat bolt upright for a moment, still trying to absorb the implications of what Shizune had said. As it set in, she slumped, her brows tapered with worry.

"Has Ibiki already taken action? H-has he decided to move the group elsewhere?" She asked, struggling to keep the growing fear out of her voice.

"He didn't say, though the report we received from him implies that they don't plan to move, and instead have sent a letter _suggesting _a new location that focuses more on fortitude rather than obscurity."

"So they're waiting on approval…" the Hokage muttered to herself. "Well, we can't keep them waiting long… however, this is one more thing I'll have to explain at the meeting… assuming the other Kage ever respond…" she added under her breath. She gathered papers that had scattered across the table, and stacked them off to the side as she stood up. "…" she opened her mouth as if to say something, but changed her mind, pacing back and forth behind the desk. Shizune watched sympathetically; it was moments like these that reminded the pair why Tsunade once balked at the idea of being Hokage.

No later had Ibiki sent that letter to Tsunade than he made it very clear to his subordinates and charges that they were under a lockdown of sorts. No one went anywhere alone; jounin were to pair up and keep a lookout at all times. The Akatsuki and Naruto would have to be condensed into no more than four rooms so as to be under constant surveillance. This endless monitoring would keep the forces from being stretched too thin while still discouraging conspiracy among the children, a development that soured a few attitudes.

"So until we get the word from the Hokage, we stay here, stay together, and stay alive. Understood?" Ibiki concluded, his gaze sweeping across the line of leaf-nin and then down over the Akatsuki. He was met with nods, some slower than others, and didn't miss the scattered pouts among the little ones. The interrogator's face crinkled slightly at the childish display, but shook his head resignedly, turning to the adults and explaining to them which rooms would be used. They would all be close, if for no other reason than to ensure a speedy evacuation if necessary. He further asserted that some would have to be watched even more closely as they seemed to get a better handle on their chakra, Sasori in particular. "That's all." He finished, leaving the room with one of the jounin, and the remaining eight split into pairs, each taking some of the Akatsuki with them. Naruto ended up with one Akatsuki, Itachi. Seeing as the boy's eyes were failing him, they had decided that the former leaf-nin posed the least threat to Naruto, and thus was the only one suitable to be watched alongside the jinchuriki. Naruto couldn't contain the scoff at the explanation offered to him by one of his two "guards".

They were led out of the room, around the corner to the right and took the first door on the left. It was 2 doors down from his old room, but since they all looked the same, it was hardly a change. The other pairs of jounin left with three Akatsuki each, though Naruto had been too distracted by his caretakers to take careful notice of who was with who.

Whether in the hideout or Konoha, time seemed to stretch on forever. Long sunless days of waiting for instruction were mirrored by long restless days of waiting for an answer from other village leaders. Tsunade had sent the approval for Ibiki to move his party to a more secure location, but it was still another day and a half before she got word from the Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand. He had accepted the _invitation_ to meet and discuss the matter of the Akatsuki, but then, her ally in the Land of Wind was the least of her worries, and his gentle response did little to comfort her. After what seemed like an eternity, Ibiki received the confirmation to move out, and Tsunade had received word from the Tsuchikage, Raikage and Mizukage over the course of a few days. Finally both parties could move forward, if only into still more treacherous waters.


	8. Escalation

A/N: Well, all I can say about the chapter below is… "This shit just got real." I hope you like it though, and sorry if all the action/drama seems a little sudden. I'm limiting myself to 10 chapters for the whole story, so I really need to get things in gear. A little note that you will hopefully read before getting into the chapter: I've picked a name for the made-up jounin that will be partnered with Ibiki for all those babysitting purposes. She's just a plot device named Midori, but if you really want, I can fudge some info to share.

**Chapter 8: Escalation**

For the first time, Naruto had the opportunity to get a good look at the former leaf-nin since their last encounter. Itachi looked deceptively small and frail, and kept his clouded eyes averted, but on some level Naruto understood with a small and melancholy smile why the little one glared in any direction but his, guarding his wounded pride, no doubt. He'd have lied if he said he had never been in such a position; small, weak and distrusted by most everyone around him...

Naruto blinked the haze away, realizing that he was getting lost in his thoughts, and reminded himself sternly that this was quite different.

Though Naruto was unaware of how the others were arranged, Ibiki certainly had a plan in mind when he specifically grouped certain Akatsuki. The leaders would be separated, and informants would be grouped together rather than scattered about thus informing multiple groups. And so it was that pairs of jounin dutifully monitored Nagato with Deidara and Kakuzu, Pein with Hidan and Kisame, and Konan with Sasori and Zetsu.

On top of separating all functional pairs of Akatsuki, he had guards rotate, and speedily too. They'd grab pre-prepared meals for themselves and their charges that were hung on the walls by Ibiki after a late night supply run. Ibiki and his jounin partner were the only ones allowed to leave the hideout, and only for supplies until they received an answer from the Hokage on whether or not to move out. When they did leave, they took their charges with them rather than leave them unattended or burden the other guards with extra children. The children were thoroughly bound and fixed to their caretakers' backs with rope – uncomfortable and disastrous for dignity, but it served its purpose. He and his subordinates weren't ruling out an attack either, and all remained bright-eyed and prepared to put up a fight. It was with all these control measures that Ibiki hoped to keep everyone as safe as possible.

After two days of this grueling pace of security, Ibiki was out with his partner, Midori, on another supply run, with Sasori and Zetsu on his back, and Konan with the kunoichi at his side. They were running to make the trip as quickly as they could, something that would have been impossible if they had to pace themselves with the children, and something that Ibiki was markedly grateful for, remembering the unnecessarily long trek from the edge of Fire Country to its heart. Even as he smiled at the thought, he noticed with a crooked frown that the little ones on his back were wriggling, their voices muffled but… frantic. They had never tried to escape before, and he became even more confused, perhaps even a little alarmed as he saw Konan behaving similarly. There was a look of fear in the girl's eyes. When he first looked back, there was nothing, just darkness and silence. A moment later, the two leaf-nin jumped to the side just in time to avoid being crushed by a massive serpent barreling through the forest they had been peacefully traversing only moments ago. If it were only one serpent, Ibiki would have been willing to stand and fight, but when the serpent dissolved into innumerable smaller ones, he couldn't help but growl to mask the groan of exasperation that escaped him. With a glance, he and his partner parted ways, trying to divide the snakes and make them more manageable, and for a while, he did a fair job of thinning out the ranks. As they began to overwhelm him, he heard the angry howls of dogs… was he to assume that…?

His suspicions were confirmed as somewhat familiar ninja-hounds adorned with leaf-headbands crossed his field of vision, and in a flurry of fur the seven canines had reduced a half a horde of serpents to just a few. An eighth approached with its human friend close behind.

Hatake Kakashi's smooth relaxed voice drifted from the shadows: "Nice work everyone." His happy closed eye opened and softened a bit as he focused on Ibiki. "The hounds were merely tracking you to make sure that we delivered the message as soon as possible, but seeing as there were snakes about, it's a good thing I had them ready." It was then that Yamato approached, followed closely by Ibiki's partner. The interrogator sighed, relieved that they had come to help, but slightly embarrassed by the notion that he had been "rescued". Kakashi chose to continue, relaying his message as promised: "Tsunade has given the okay to move to a different hideout, and she is at the meeting with the other Kage as we speak."

"Though by the look of things, it's cause to wonder if moving away is enough to minimize Orochimaru's threat." Yamato added with a small frown, scanning the dark surroundings before his eyes locked onto the shadows behind Ibiki. At precisely the same moment Kakashi's eye did likewise. Before Ibiki could even move, however, a black tendril-like tail had wrapped around his legs, and dragged him into the shadows – along with Zetsu and Sasori. Kakashi immediately took off after him, and Yamato, Ibiki's partner and Konan waited anxiously, but after minutes of empty silence, Kakashi returned disappointingly alone.

"Yamato, you and Midori need to return to the hideout; if something's happened here, then something could have happened there. I'll keep looking for Ibiki and his charges, understand?" The two nodded firmly before taking off toward the small underground facility.

When Yamato, Midori and Konan finally reached the hideout, they were unsettled to find the hidden trap door hanging open, not just opened, but broken in. They hurried down the stairs, but all that remained were unconscious and grievously wounded leaf-nin. Yamato backed toward the main door, looking uncomfortably at the kunoichi.

"We have to find Naruto and the other Akatsuki, we can get help for the team later." He muttered while turning and running upstairs to start searching. After combing the woods for a nerve-wracking half-hour, he finally found a hint of orange in the darkness poking out from the inside of a modest tree hollow, and drew closer to investigate.

Naruto flinched at first, his kunai drawn, but the moment he saw that familiar headgear, a comforted smile broke out on his face.

"Hey, Yamato-taicho." He greeted the man with a grin, trying to recover his cheerful disposition. "Sorry about that – just thought those goons might still be looking for us." Yamato's eyebrows tapered sadly as he looked the boy up and down; there were cuts and bruises and he generally looked a little frazzled. "After we got out of there, we decided to just lay low for a bit." Yamato then looked to the left to see the Akatsuki packed together on the other side of the tree's interior. Any whispering among them had dissipated when his gaze fell on them, and he couldn't help but narrow his eyes in suspicion.

Yamato warned them in a mildly threatening manner: "Given the situation, I wouldn't be plotting an escape if I were you."

Under orange hair, Pein's eyebrows furrowed in a glare and he shook his head curtly as if saying: _We're not plotting, and we're not planning to escape._ It was then that Nagato's weak voice called out, mustering up conviction:

"We're more concerned about Konan, Zetsu and Sasori at the moment…"


	9. Frustration

A/N: Hahaha, well, we're getting down to the wire, aren't we? This story is only supposed to be 10 chapters long – just in case you missed that little detail. This chapter's going to move pretty quickly, I'll try to not let it run away. Oh, and plot point, who knows how much time actually passed between the resolution of the Immortal's arc, and Sasuke absorbing Orochimaru, so if it's such a short time between the two events… I don't know what to say. It means we're ignoring canon story progression.

**Chapter 9: Frustration**

Tsunade looked around the room at the other Kage. If it weren't for diplomacy and the precariously arranged "peace" between the Five great nations, she would not be here, trying to fairly assess what to do with the Akatsuki, and what to do about Orochimaru's involvement in the situation. The Raikage was unhappy as usual, the Tsuchikage was… well, the Tsuchikage, and the Mizukage – she was an entirely different matter. She appeared quiet and reserved, and often seemed eager to patch up relations with the other villages, but that didn't make the topic of the Akatsuki any less sensitive.

"Let's get to the point then, we all know why we're here." The soft voice jolted her out of her bitter musings, but she quickly settled down. The Kazekage had come to her aid, and she caught herself, subduing a relieved smile. Gaara knew as well as anyone how dangerous the Akatsuki were, and he knew the Hokage must have felt tremendous pressure to be acting so awkwardly – she was not a weak-willed woman after all. Slightly encouraged, Tsunade spoke up.

"Right then. Aware of the Akatsuki's situation as we are, I felt it was only appropriate that we reach a consensus on what is to be done with them." The Raikage silently sneered, he thought the answer was fairly obvious, but kept his mocking comments about her soft-headedness to himself for the moment. The Tsuchikage, despite his ornery and stubborn conviction kept his mouth shut. Having used the Akatsuki to his benefit in peace-time, execution of the S-Class criminals was not the first thing on his mind. Of course, if he mentioned how useful they were, he'd merely be inviting argument from the other Kage, the Raikage in particular. Then he had to consider that they were not as useful now as they once were…

"To clarify, you explained that they had been turned into children…?" The Mizukage asked, and in doing so broke a brief period of silence. Tsunade nodded with a small frown, wondering if anyone had given any thought to the subject of the meeting before arriving. "Is there any way that the jutsu that did this can be reversed?" Tsunade furrowed her brows, her frown deepening thoughtfully. She didn't recall being informed of anything.

"Not to our current knowledge. We've been focusing on secure detainment of the children until we could reach an agreement between all the Kage, considering that the members of the organization were derived from each of the Five Great Nations."

"Not mine." The Lightning Shadow grumbled, scowling at the other 4 from his seat. Tsunade couldn't help but sigh, at least the tension of silence was wearing off.

"That doesn't mean you have nothing to lose, Raikage." A's face contorted into an expression of fury as his head whipped in Onoki's direction. Tsunade's eyes flickered between them, anxious that a fight may break out, but unsure of how to stop it.

"Alright, calm down you two. We didn't come here to argue, we came here to make a decision." Tsunade said sharply, forcing them to turn their attention away from each other. She heaved a sigh and proposed that someone actually provide their input.

Meanwhile, Zetsu and Sasori quietly observed their surroundings. They had been separated from Ibiki, and remained in their confinements in a dark room, watched casually by two… well, they supposed the two strangers in the yet-darker corner of the room could be called guards. What affiliation they were exactly was anyone's guess; they could be sound ninja, but who knew if that "village" was even still operating. The room itself was quite barren, like the unlit cells they had spent weeks in already – that being said, knowing it was a hideout of Orochimaru's that they were in made it an entirely different experience. What really had them on edge though, was wondering why they weren't dead yet. At this point, Zetsu could only suppose that they were being kept for experimentation purposes, as the Snake Sannin didn't really keep anyone around for much else. What was being done to Ibiki, well, that was another mystery. For the first time in a long time, Zetsu was looking at an overwhelming list of questions with no solid answers, leaving him with a slightly queasy feeling. The guards, at least, kept to themselves, though the two Akatsuki could sometimes catch the near-silhouettes' eyes drifting in their direction.

Outside, Pakkun had followed Ibiki's scent to the entrance of the underground hideout – a task made simpler by the fact that the leaf-nin had been dragged all the way there. The jounin hardly had time to formulate a plan, which they desperately needed if they were going to engage in a conflict with someone like Orochimaru. As they entered, they had only a few main guidelines: find Ibiki, Sasori and Zetsu, Midori will get them out, Kakashi and Yamato will deal with any security.

Midori followed behind, checking doors until finally they stopped at a door on the right. They were confused by the lax security and preparing themselves for a trap, Midori opened the door. Once Ibiki's partner slipped inside and nothing more could be heard, Kakashi and Yamato pressed on in search of their other colleague.

Midori stayed remarkably silent as she looked the guards up and down, who were struggling against white masses and vague heads forming from them. Surprising and strange as this was, her heart skipped a beat when she realized she could only see one of the Akatsuki in this room, with a rope piled uselessly beside the red-head.

"Where's the other one?" She asked urgently, to which the little wooden boy frowned disappointedly.

"He left me here, I don't know where he went. I suppose I would have just slowed him down." Midori's chin fell somewhat, a twinge of sympathy making its way onto her face. She shook her head, picking up the still bound child and pulling at the slack so that he was effectively strapped to her back.

"Come on, it's time to leave." She said, heading for the door, but looked back at the struggling silhouettes that seemed to grow weaker as time passed. "Should I-?" she asked herself, wondering if it would be too cruel to leave them, as whatever the substance was seemed to be draining them of energy. She dismissed it with some hesitation, knowing that things could quickly go from bad to worse, and she should get going while the going was good.

Ibiki was starting to get a little frustrated; he had sat for nearly a half-hour enduring various methods of torture waiting patiently for the able witnesses who watched him get dragged away to come help him. He was effectively bound to a chair, unable to reach any of his tools or weapons in the corner about 10 feet away. He'd managed to keep his mouth shut, though the shinobi interrogating him was quickly losing patience. He scowled at the glint of a curved knife as the former leaf-nin holding it sat down in the chair across from him, the latter's silver hair glinting slightly as he'd seated himself closer to the lamp that hung from the center of the ceiling. He turned the blade over in his hands as he prepared to ask one more question.

"You're certain you have nothing to say on the Akatsuki and Uzumaki Naruto's destination?" he asked calmly, his eyes lifting themselves from the knife to Ibiki's face – it was clear that dealing with someone so stubborn was a waste of his time. Ibiki shook his head with a disdainful curl of his lips that, ironically, matched his captor's expression quite well. He glared off to the side, waiting for a killing blow, when the sound of creaking wood reached his ears. Confused, both shinobi looked to the ceiling. It was too late for Kabuto to distance himself, and he flinched slightly, only to find himself watching annoyed through a cylindrical wooden cage as Kakashi made quick work of the ties holding Ibiki down. Within seconds, the three intruders were smoke on the wind, and met Midori and Sasori outside the hideout with the ninken.

"Where's Zetsu?" Kakashi asked, completely stunned, but trying to minimize the effect. Yamato and Ibiki were likewise confused.

"Sasori doesn't seem to be aware of his whereabouts either. I didn't know how long you'd be, and I didn't want to stay in the hideout longer than I had to… I had hoped that you might have seen him." She finished a bit guiltily, choosing not to make eye contact with her partner. Sasori was inwardly disgusted with the naïve, innocent role he was expected to play, but it was in their best interest if he pretended to be a clueless child. _"Please, Sasori-san, We need time to figure this out. Cooperate with the Leaf-nin; let Our actions appear independent; the longer they're looking for one fugitive with no accomplices, the simpler it will be for all of us."_ With that they regrouped with Naruto and the remaining Akatsuki; getting to the safe point had to be their top priority. Of course, the next priority would be to tend to the wounded jounin squad back at the previously used facility.

Back at the meeting, things were going poorly, in other words, just as Tsunade had expected. As usual, no one could agree on anything. The Raikage was content to execute the lot of them, children as they were. The Tsuchikage claimed that as children they were hardly a threat. When the Earth and Lightning Shadow weren't arguing, there was one thing they agreed on.

"Why did you even bother calling this meeting?" The Raikage barked, his patience all but gone. "You have them detained, and they're perfectly helpless – aside from the fact that there's no better time to eliminate them, what did you think we would want? To adopt them, and raise them to be good little boys and girls? This is a waste of time."

"Well, it really depends on how much of their lives they recall. I haven't heard anything about whether or not they've retained any information." The Mizukage offered quietly, and turned her solemn gaze to the Hokage.

"Well, we know for certain that Zetsu has remembered everything, with the others, it may be more debatable."

"What's debatable about it?" The elderly Tsuchikage spoke up, likely aggravated by back pain at this point. "I doubt some bungled jutsu is going to be picky about who's turned into a miniature menace and who's turned into mindless rugrat." Throughout it all, the Kazekage remained mostly speechless, considering the angles and wondering what (besides execution) was to be done with children who retained the identities of mass murderers.

"Let's not forget about Orochimaru as a factor in all of this. Perhaps this will be easier to decide:" Tsunade projected her voice, trying to move on from the loaded subject of how dangerous the children may or may not be. "Are any of us content to let Orochimaru get a hold of them?"

"Just one more reason to thoroughly dispose of them." A declared. "That snake doesn't _need_ more material to work with."

"If they are to be executed, it should be done discreetly, there's no need to make a big production of it." Mei suggested, trading a wary glance with Tsunade.

Onoki, of course, had his own input. "It's a fine enough solution. It's not as if those brats will be ignorant of their crimes."

Tsunade let go of a held breath, although it only seemed practical, and she saw it coming, there was something about the option that didn't sit well with her. She looked over to Gaara, having not heard from him since the first 5 minutes of the meeting had passed. The young Kage looked away with an unreadable expression, though there seemed to be hints of uncertainty, and perhaps even a little confusion. Apparently the matter was settled, as the Mizukage, Tsuchikage and Raikage were standing up and getting ready to leave.

"Lord Kazekage," Tsunade muttered, trying to keep their conversation personal, "is there something you wanted to say?" Sea green eyes turned to her accompanied by a pensive frown.

"I'm just trying to sort out mixed feelings." The Kazekage said, standing up and situating his hat. When he explained further, his voice almost sounded mournful. "I've always at least had the opportunity to see people before I killed them."

Kabuto couldn't tell which would be more unpleasant to explain to the Snake Sannin: that he was trapped by leaf-nin – that the prisoners escaped – that he still had no information on where the remaining Akatsuki were – or that after he freed himself from a wooden cage and found the guards half-dead, he noticed certain notes… had vanished.

Pouring over said notes in a remote patch of forest miles away and with only a half-moon to read by was Zetsu. And the plant child was growing increasingly frustrated; hours ago, he had escaped solo from the hideout, and after dodging every sound the forest made and finally settling down long enough to read the notes, none of it made sense. He found that a certain character had to have been smudged, and that the papers showed otherwise identical instructions regarding the kata and symbols he had observed, but no matter how he planned it, how he hypothesized it, how he pictured it in his head – he couldn't seem to grasp a counter-jutsu. He had come to the conclusion that he couldn't do this on his own. He needed help…


End file.
